Memorial Day Weekend at the Ostrich Ranch

We had so much fun when we visited the Rooster Cogburn Ostrich Ranch at Picacho Peak last year that we took the kids back for a Memorial Day trip. The first feeding station is these donkeys, and I think it's because they are the easiest and least scary to feed. Keeley thought it was pretty silly when they licked the food off her hand.

 Sareny and Isaac were both willing to give it a try.

But this is about as close as Finley was willing to get. No amount of coaxing would convince her to hold her hand up to a large animal's mouth. She would occassionally toss food in their general direction.

 Keeley thought if she pointed at her brain, we would all know how smart she is.

 These donkeys really were pretty gentle.

Keeley was pretty good natured the whole day. I love this picture of her and Keith with Picacho Peak in the background.

 Next up were the deer, which were only slightly scarier/more aggressive than the donkeys.

Finley's favorite thing to feed is the goats...as long as they are up at the top of their goat penthouse. You put the food in a little cup that is attached to this belt system, then crank the food up to the goats waiting at the top.

  The kids all really liked this part.

 

 And apparently I didn't get any pictures of the goats at the top.

The rest of the goats poke their heads out these holes and you feed them. In my opinion, goats are a little bit scarier to feed than the previous animals, but I tried it anyway. Some of the kids were trying to throw the food at the goats, which just didn't work.

Then we went on the Monster Truck Tour. Sareny and Isaac wanted to sit in the back, because there is one part where the ride gets pretty wild and the back of the truck is the wildest.

 Rivvy girl got a bit scared on this ride. When the truck would stop for the tour guide to talk to us, she turned the truck off. Keeley would jump down and stand on the floor for a bit, but the minute she heard the engine turning back on, she scrambled onto my lap super quick.

Isaac got picked to go stand on a real ostrich egg. Those things are tough! I guess they have to be when the guy laying on top of them weighs several hundred pounds.

When we got to the wild area, the tour guide made some people move over so Finley, Keely, and I could sit in the front, supposedly tamer area. (And I was secretly glad she did.) I don't know if you can tell in this picture, but it was a little terrifying! Imagine flying around in your seat getting some serious air while simultaneously gripping your baby as tightly as you can and also offering some support for her neck with one arm, hanging on as best as you can with your other arm, and doing what little you can to keep your frightened preschooler from flying out the window. I came close to flying off the seat myself.

 Surprisngly, Keeley lay there like a slug and didn't let out one peep.

The last part of the tour includes osctrich fishing.

You attach some orange slices to the end of these poles, and hang them over for the ostriches to gobble up.

 The kids all liked this part.

 A family photo.

And we all made it back in one piece. You can see just how giant that truck is.

I wanted a picture of all the kids by the wheel, but Finley didn't want to be in the picture, and apparently neither did Keeley.

 She was making her escape.

 And a parting shot of Isaac making one of his classic crazy poses.

And this concludes the first half of this blog post. I just took too many pictures to fit in one post. Next up: feeding the ostriches, groundhogs, ducks, and birds.